(1) Field of the Invention
This disclosure pertains to a radiant panel which may be used for both heating and cooling in a building. More specifically, the panel provided herein uses an extruded, elongated plate which is located in a ceiling with other panels in a spaced relationship, providing openings between the adjacent panels. The extruded plates are attached directly to suspended crossbraces and a snap-on sheet metal liner is attached to the room side surface of the extruded member.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The extruded aluminum panels shown in the prior art are exemplified by the Shelley U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,995 (1982) which discloses a number of interlocking aluminum sheets joined in side by side fashion and suspended from a supporting grid structure. Another type of similar panel is shown in the Beck U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,703 (1978) which shows an extruded aluminum panel also joined edge to edge and having upstanding saddles on the back surface to receive copper tubes. The deformed saddles are crimped about the tube, and deformed at an elevated temperature to mechanically secure the copper tubes in place. These patents do not show a so-called linear radiant ceiling which refers to an inside ceiling configuration having the appearance of linear members arranged in spaced relationship and uninterrupted by the usual air vents or exhaust openings.
Linear ceilings have been used more extensively in Europe than in the United States and provide sheet metal liners clipped directly to a supporting grid structure. Linear ceilings have not been used with radiant panels having copper tubes attached to extruded aluminum radiant plates and attached directly to the supporting, suspended crossbraces. Linear ceilings were designed for use as a radiant ceiling; however, the construction suggested merely mounts a copper tube under a supporting grid member and then uses the grid member and the tube for attachment of the clip-on, linear panel. Such construction is shown in a brochure provided by the Hunter Douglas Company of Rotterdam, Holland.
The linear ceiling which utilizes the copper tube to attach the clip-on linear sheet member is inefficient because there is very little contact between the tube which circulates hot and/or cold water on the sheet. The structure shown herein provides a linear ceiling with highly efficient radiant panel construction which is achieved by using a saddle to attach fluid circulating whereby radiant heat can be provided to the room and/or the room can also be cooled by the radiant structure shown herein. A decorative sheet linear covers the extruded plate.